NEW YORK _ It took 11 innings, but on the first day of fall, the Yankees clinched their trip to October.
Aaron Hicks, who had just painfully fouled a ball off his foot, recuperated to hit a line drive down the left-field line, chasing Didi Gregorius from first as the Yankees defeated the Orioles, 3-2 and clinched a wild-card spot. The Rays lost to the Blue Jays earlier in the day, 5-2, to guarantee a Yankees win would mean a spot in the playoffs.
The Yankees have yet to earn home-field advantage.
The Yankees struck first, on second-inning solo home runs by Hicks and Luke Voit, who brought the team's season total to 251. But things got hairy in the top of the third, courtesy of one of the guys Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone seem to be rooting for the most.
A day after Cashman said he was "doubling down" on Gary Sanchez, and "tripling down on him," and hours after Boone named him his starting wild-card game catcher, Sanchez had two major gaffes, leading to a run.
After the first two batters reached on singles in the top of the third, he let a Lance Lynn fastball skitter by him for a passed ball, allowing the lead runner, Breyvic Valera, to advance to third. One out later, Cedric Mullins' slow roller died in front of the plate, and Sanchez threw way wide of Voit, plating Valera. Steve Wilkerson was right behind him, but was cut off at the plate, on a ball from Gleyber Torres to Lynn, backing up Sanchez.
The Orioles nearly tied it in the fifth, and then they did. Steve Wilkerson hit a one-out triple, and Caleb Joseph singled to right, but Aaron Judge's strong throw nailed a flopping Wilkerson at the plate to preserve the lead. But Lynn didn't make good on his second chance, and allowed a single to DJ Stewart, which brought home Mullins and knotted the score at 2.
